This past year I’ve had the opportunity to work with emerging leaders, managers and established leaders in various industries including commercial real estate, education, legal services, food industry, finance, accounting, security, tech and more. What’s most interesting to me is that regardless of the industry, role or title we all face many of the same issues at work and in our life. One key issue that consistently shows up is sharing our voice in a productive way regardless of your position. This is simple but not always easy to do.

We all need to find an authentic and meaningful way to share our voice whether we are introspective, thoughtful, supportive, reserved, talkative, direct, action oriented, visionary or an idea generator. How we share our voice in conversation, under pressure, when we disagree, during meetings or in difficult situations impacts how people think of us. It impacts how they trust and respect us and whether they think we add or detract value. If you add value people will want to partner with you more often and if you detract value people start to lose respect. It’s important to realize that this behavior contributes to how people view us.

Sharing our voice ties into the brand we want to build for ourself. Some people have something to say about everything while others prefer to stay quiet and think through all the possibilities before they speak – neither approach is necessarily good or bad. We all need to consider how we show up and if this aligns with the brand we want to create for ourself and the results.

Here are a few questions to consider:
1. What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
2. What 3 words would others use to describe you?
3. What steps can you take to more effectively share your voice?

As we move into the new year, this is the perfect time to reflect on how we show up and the impact we are capable of making in the world.

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Milken Institute, LA Business Journal, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and NBC Universal. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook

Sounds like a simple enough idea to ask. When kids are hungry they ask for food. When kids are thirsty they ask for something to drink. Somewhere between being a kid and becoming an adult, we forget that we have the ability to ask for what we want. And just to clarify, I’m not encouraging you to be greedy and ask for unnecessary things, I’m encouraging you to think about what’s important to you and why and then go for it.

We can ask for what we want in all areas of our life. We can ask in our career, relationships, and financially. By asking with compassion for what we want we increase the likelihood to live our truth. You may need time for yourself, sleep, honesty in a relationship, respect, more or less responsibility at work, or a day off to highlight a few themes. And sometimes what you need, such as space in a relationship, may not be what the other person wants and that’s ok. It’s important to honor yourself and your needs.

Perhaps you don’t know what you want.
Perhaps you are scared to ask.
Perhaps you wouldn’t know what to do if you actually got what you asked for.

Amazing things happen when you ask. One client, who was seriously considering leaving her job, was able to put a four-day work week into place by masterfully conveying to her boss why this would be good for her, the company, and her team. Her boss agreed and my client now works a four-day work week and enjoys her job again. Prior to this shift, my client was frustrated with her job and not happy in her role.

Now, here’s the tricky part…just because you know what you want, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. Once you figure out a four-day work week is appealing (and I’m sure everyone loves this one), you need to think about why this makes sense for your employer, what type of conversation you need to have with your manager, how will it impact people on your team, and what rituals need to shift in your daily work schedule to make this possible. Often, you may find yourself making excuses for why something is not possible (as my client did when I introduced the idea). As you learn to stop this conversation in your head and re-train yourself to focus on what you want and why it needs to happen, you will cross the line from im-possible to possible. And if it doesn’t happen this month, that’s ok. Keep rolling forward because it could happen the next month.

I know one thing for sure — it’s ok to ask for what you want. And if you don’t ask, I can guarantee one thing — nothing will change. The next time you’re not sure what to do:

ASK with compassion
ASK with clarity
ASK with confidence

Top 1% Bottom Line: Sometimes an idea sounds entirely unrealistic until you ASK. This process of shifting your mindset to what’s possible opens up new possibilities in all areas of your life.

About Alissa

Alissa Finerman is an Executive Coach and Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, speaker and author of Living in YOUR Top 1%. She works with managers, C-suite executives and teams to leverage strengths, shift beliefs and achieve meaningful goals. Alissa has an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked with Ross Stores, Petco, BNP Paribas, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Brookfield Property Partners, Neutrogena, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Dress for Success. To learn more about coaching with Alissa, please visit her website and follow her on Facebook